"We are happy to welcome Danny to the team," said team manager Rolf Aldag. "We have followed him for some time and we really like the way he races. We believe he still has a lot of development in him. He has been U23 TT world champion, which means that he should absolutely be competitive with the right support."

"I had a great time with Garmin-Transitions in 2008 and 2009," said Pate, "but in the middle of this season I realised things had changed and I needed a change. So when the chance came to sign with HTC Columbia, I had no doubts that that's where I wanted to be. I have experience, but I also know I can still improve. I am really looking forward to this new episode in my career."

The 31-year-old American from Colorado Springs turned pro in 2000 with Saeco, and then returned to the US scene. From 2001 to 2006, he rode for Prime Alliance Cycling Team, Health Net, Jelly Belly, and Team TIAA-CREF. He joined Team Slipstream, as it was then called, in 2007.

While with Garmin-Transition, Pate rode both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in 2008 and 2009, but was not selected for any of the grand tours this season. He won a stage at the Tour of Missouri in 2007, and finished first with the team in team trial trials a the 2008 Giro and the Tour of Georgia. Last year he finished third overall in the Criterium International.

He is a domestique with strong time trialing and climbing skills. In 1997 he was Junior National cyclo-cross champion, national U23 road champion in 1998, and won the U23 World time trial title in 2001.